Essential

Background

Essential is a company whose technical know-how is only matched by their dedication to creating solutions for 21st century living. Andy Rubin—Founder and CEO, who also co-founded Android Inc. in 2003—started the company knowing that when it comes to technology, we can do better.

How? By stripping away the unnecessary to create products that are truly essential.

The Essential team believes the best devices should be truly yours, built with technology that evolves with you, and free of anything you don’t want. That devices should play well with others, without divisive, closed ecosystems. That premium materials and true craftsmanship should be available to everyone. That simple is always better.

The name Essential says it all. They’re committed to designing solutions that are representative of consumers’ wants and needs, and we crafted their brand to reflect that. Our strategy focused on people being at the center of everything Essential does.

We identified real problems consumers face—from struggles with restrictive technology that’s cumbersome when it should be simple, to secretive brands that don’t listen to their needs—and built a philosophy around transparency, choice, and innovation. Ultimately, Essential aims to pair purposeful innovation with a deeper, pro-people consumer relationship.

Logomark

The logo mark takes its inspiration from the brand’s core mission of stripping away the unnecessary to create technology that perfectly fits into your life. We created a meaningful mark that is simple, stylish, and iconic—intended to work in many sizes and formats across a range of applications and lifestyle products.

Identity System

Beginning with the phone, Essential will introduce a range of different products. With that in mind, we designed a system that has a strong, engineered foundation with neutral tones and a measured, technical graphic language, but can flex as they expand with additional bright colors and more dynamic layouts. The system balances the smarts of their engineering power with a fun and irreverent personality.

“The mark has a sort of motion to it. The shapes are meant for each other, and your mind wants to complete this visual puzzle.”